Closing machine for cans



Dec. 20, 1927.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Julyl 6. 1926 Dec. 20, 1927. I 5 1,653,557

H. FINK CLOSING MACHINE FOR CANS Filed July 16. 1926 4'-Sheets-Sheet 2 @413, 2a a? v Dec. 20, 1927. 1,653,557

H. A. FINK CLOSING MACHINE FOR CANS Filed July l6. 1926 j Sheets-Sheet 3 H. A. FlNK CLOSING MACHINE FOR CANS Dec. 20, 1927.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 16, 1926 Patented Dec. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATES w 1 6 ATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. .FINK OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINENTALCAN COMPANY,

INC., OF, NEW YORK, N. .Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

cnosnve MAoHIn FOB-CANS.

Application flea July 16, 1926. fser'iaiiwo; 122.8186.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in closing .machines'for cans, and more particularly to a closing machine wherein. the can is stationary during the closing of the can. p

Machines of the above type are common in the art, and it is also common to provide such a machine with aclosing head which moves up and down to bring it into proper cooperative relation to the can to be closed.

' Such a machine is shown in the' patent to I. F. Warme, ii-1,182,291, granted March 16,

1915, and the machine of the present application is similar thereto. It is also a common expedient in the art to provide acan end feeding device which includes a rotating arm adapted to take a can end from "eneath the stack and move the same on to the can end seatbeneaththe seaming head, and also to mark the can end on its travel from the can end stack to the can end seat by continuously rotating marking devices. Such an apparatus is shown in the-patent granted 0. E. Bratt and George Fluck, August 9, i921, git-1,387,098. 1 I

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine of the type shown in the lVarme patent, wherein the closing head moves up and down relative to the can to be closed with a can end feeding; device of the type shown in the patent to Bratt and Fluck.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type having a rotating can end feeding arm with means forgiving a; dwell to said armafter the can end has passed through'the marker, so as to give ample time for the reciprocating closing head and the stripping pad to have moved above the'closed can before the can end is placed on the can end seat.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In'the drawings which show by way of illustration oneembodinient otitlio invention Figure 1 15 a view of a 'portion'ot a closing machine embodying the improvements,

many of the parts being shown merely diagrammatically, and certain of the parts be.- ing broken awayand sectioned to show the structure in themachine; i

Fig. 2 is a sectional viewer; the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; i

, or less diagrammatically-the mechanism for operating the markers and p the can'end Ifeed as viewed from the front of the machine; 1 Fig, 5is' an' enlarged detail showing the mechanism for operating the can end feed and giving the dwell'thereto; and

jFig. 6' is a detail of one of 'the driving gears for the c'an'end feed. The invention is directed broadly to a closing machine having a stationary support on to which the filled can to be closed is fed, preferably by a feedingdrum having a.

spiral thread thereon. Above this stationary support for the filled'can is a closing head, and means is provided for raising andloweri'ng the closing head, j so that it I is brought into proper cooperative relation to the can to be closed. In other words, they rounds up the open end of the can and cene tel's it for theseating of the can end therein.

At the upper portion ofthe plate directly above the tapered'openingis a can end seat.

Also'mounted'on this closing head and mov- 'able'up and downtherewith is the can end stack." This, of course, is located at one side" of the closing head. A feeding arm passes beneath the stack 'and'when a can end is re leased, it will move the can" end along a proper'gnideway' on to the can end seat. This arm is mounted to rotate. Mounted on the frame of the machine is a marking device consisting of two rotating cooperating marking members. The stack being mounted on the closing'head moves up and down therewith. The marking devices being mounted on' the frame, do not move up and down. There is an opening in the support for the can end which permits the marking devices I to mark the can end while it is moved along the support for the can ,end. The marking of the can end takes place when the closing stripping pad to be raised above the can end 7 seat, means provided for giving a dwell. 15

head is at the lower portion of its vertical re ciprocation, At this time, the'can being closedprojects through the tapered ring on the support for the can end and above the can end seat. lVhen the closing head and the support carried thereby. with the'can end stack moves upward, the seating pad holding the closed can on the stationary support therefor, will also pass down through the tapered ring to a certain extent. In order to give suflicient time for the can end seatto be raised above the closed can, and the to the arm which moves the can end from beneath the stack through the marking device and on to the can end seat. This dwell occurs just after'the can end has passed through the marking devices. Furthermore,

3 is mounted on two rods 4 which are slidingly mounted in these cross brackets 2. The closing head is moved up and down by a suitable mechanism such as shown, for example, in the patent to WVarme above referred to, and'a description of this part of the machine is not thought necessary. The closing head 3 includes a support which carries a plate 5 having a tapered opening 6 therethrough, and at the upper side of the tapered opening 6 there is a can end seat 7. Located within this support 3 is a seaming head carrying the seaming rolls indicated in dotted lines at 8,8. This seaming head is'provided with a chuck 9, and a stripping pad 10. The filled cans to be closed are fed on to a stationary support 11, directly beneath the closing head. This closing head 1 moves up and down, and the filled can is fed onto the stationary support when the closing head is at the upper end of its reciprocation. down, the tapered ring 6 will round up the open end of the can and center the same relative to the seaming head. The can end is placed on the seat 7, and as the closing head moves downward, this will lay the can end on the open upper end of the can to be closed. The stripping. pad comes down on to the end and seats it in. the can, after which the chuck engages the can end and holds the can firmly fixed in a stationary position, while the rotating seaming head carrying the seaming roll, revolves about the can and forms a double seam connection be- When the closing" head movesv tweenthe can end and the body of the can. These parts and the method of operation described, is similar to that shown in the patent to l Varme.

Mounted on the closing head isa laterally extending can end stack support 12. This support with the stacked can ends thereon moves up and down with the closing head. Said stack support is provided with a' guideway 13 011 to which the can ends drop by gravity when released'from the. stack, and the can ends are'moved along the guideway 13 by an arm 14; which rotates about a vertical axis 15. This rotating arm takes the can end when released and movesit along the guideway 13 and places the same on the can end seat, after which the arm will pass the can end and continue its rotation. The 0.1111114 is mounted at the lower end of a shaft 16, the axis of which forms the axis 15 of the rotating arm 14. This shaft 16 is mounted at its upper end in a short sleeve shaft 17, and has a splined connection 18 thereto. The short shaft 17 carries a bevel gear 19, and thisbevel gearlS) mesheswith a bevel gear 20 011 a. shaft 21. The shafts 17 and 21 are mounted in a bracket 22 fixed to the main frame 1 of the machine by suitable bolts .23, 23. The support for the stacked can ends, together with the rotating arm, the guideway for the can ends and the can end seat. all inoveup and down together with the closing head, and the shaft 16 slides in the shaft 17 during this up and down movement. The spline 18, however, maintains the connection between the shafts 16 and 17, so that the rotation imparted to the shaft 17 will in turn be imparted .to the shaft 16', and through the shaft 16 will rotate the arm 14;.

The shaft-21 is rotated by a clutch connection with a shaft 24 which is in axial alinement therewith; The shaft 21 carries a fixed collar 25 having a lug 26, and a clutch dog 27 is spring-pressed by a spring 28 sothai when the right-hand end of this clutch dog is released, the left-hand end will move toward the center of the shaft 24 so as to engage the lug. This clutch dog 27 is controlled by a shoe carried by a rod 29 mounted on an arm fixed to a shaft 30, and this shaft 30 is controlled by a plate 31 extendingalongside of the guideway for the filled can. The'plate 31 is connected toa rod 32 which in turn is connected to the shaft 30. When a filled can moves along the plate 31, it will press said plate rearwardly and oscil late the shaft 29 so as to release the dog 27 and thus permit the shaft- 2l to be connected to the shaft '21. The purpose of this connection is so that the can end feeding mechanism will only be, operated to release and place a can end on the can end seat when a filled can is'passlng into the machineto be closed. This control ofthe' feed ofthc can twin? endsby the filled can is shown and described more in detail in my prior I Patent N 0. 1,640,762 granted August 30, 1927, and further descriptionthereof is not thought necessary.

V The shaft 24 carries a gear wheel This gear wheel 33 meshes with a gear wheel 34 on .a shaft 35. The shaft 35 carriesa spiral gear, wheel 36. which meshes with aspiral gear wheel 37 on the cross shaft 38. The

cross shaft 38.0arriesa bevel gear 39, and

this bevel gear 39 meshes with a bevel gear 40 on a vertically disposed shaft 41. This vertically disposed shaft41 at its upper end carries a bevel gear 42 which meshes with a bevel gear 43 on the main driving shaft of the machine. Thus it is that the shaft for actuating the can end feed is rotated and connected to the shaft which carries the arm which moves the can ends so as to take a can end from beneath the stack and place it on the can end seat when there is a tobe closed. f r

The can ends are released from the stack one at a time.- This is accomplished byreleasing members 44, 44.. These releasing members 44 support the can ends and strips the lower can end from the stack and forces it down on to the support having the guiderotated, it will, at each rotation, impart one oscillation to the lever47 and this will re. lease one can end. The parts, of course, are so timed that the can end is released in proper time for the arm 14 to engage and carry the same along the guideway .13.

V The marking devices consist oftwo rotat with a bevel gear 56 on the shaft 57, and

the shaft 57 carries a bevel gear 58 atzits outer end which meshes with a bevel gear 59 on the end of the shaft which carriesthe drum for feeding the filled cans on to the support 11. The shaft 41, therefore, drives the can end feed, the marking devices and the filled can feed. The marking device 52 I operates on the can end through anopening 6 0. Inasmuch as these marking devices rotate, the can end is marked without stopping the rotation thereof, that is, the marking devices care sotimed relative to the rotating arm 14, that when. the can end is moved between the marking devices by the rotation of this arm 14, the dies of the marking devices will come into engagement with the can end, and moving along with the same will impress the mark into the metal,and then release the can end so that it may pass along with the arm 14. c

It has been noted above that these marking devices are carried by shafts .journaled in a bracket on the main frame 1, and therefore, the marking devices have no bodily up and down movement. The can end support, however, does move up and down. The parts are so timed that the can end is carried between the marking devices when the support for the can end is at the lower end of its reciprocation. It will be understood, of course, that the closing head dwells when at the lower end of its stroke for the purpose of permitting the seaming head to close-thecan, and it is during this dwell at the lower end of its stroke, that the can end is released and taken by the arm 14 through the marking device.

The closing head moves down over the filled can, and the canas it goes up through I the tapered ring, is rounded up and picks up the can end whiehis to be secured thereto. lVhen the seaming head has finished its operation and joined the can end to the filled can body, the closed can still projectsabove the can end seat, and of course, the can end .for

the next can to beclosed cannot at this time be moved on to the canend seat. As the clos-- ing head moves upwardly, the stripping pad. 10 holds the closed can on the stationary support 11 and retains its hold on the closed can until the tapered ring is well abovethe closed can. At this time, the stem on which the stripping ,pad is mounted extends down through the tapered ring, and the pad is slightly below the can end seat. Of course, the can end cannot be fed on to the can end seat at this time. As the machine continues its cycle of operation, the stripping pad is raised free of the can end seat,and the can end seat is raised free of the closed can. It is during this interval of the positioning of the parts that the can end must be fed forward on to its seat. This interval, of course, occurswhenthe closing head is at or near the upper endof its reciprocation. In order to give sufficient time for the closing head to reach the upper end of its reciproca-, tion, after the can end has passed through the marking device, which-occurs while the closing head is at the lower end of its reciplocation, I have provided the bevel gears which rotate the shaft 16, with a blank space Y which will give a dwell to the rotation of the (ill shaft 16. The bevel gear 20 is shown as having a blank space 61 and the bevel gear 19 is provided with a blank space 62. These blank spaces 61 and 62 are'so shaped that when they roll into engagement, the gear 20 may continue its rotation, but the gear 19 will stop for a brief period of time and be held in its stopped position. It is through this construction of the bevel gears which rotate the arm 14: that the arm 14 carries the can end through the marking devices, and then comes to a dwell, and remains at a dwell until the closing head practically reaches the upper end of its stroke when the arm ll again is moved forward on its rotation and places a can end on the can end seat.

From the above it will be apparent that my improvement consists in a can end feed of the rotating type as distinguished from a reciprocating can end feed, and means has been provided so that this rotating can end feed passes a can end through the marking device when the closing head is at the lower end of its reciprocation, after which it will dwell until the closing head is at the upper end of its reciprocation, and then the can end isvcarried on to the can end seat. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction shown and described, but these details may be greatly modified so long as the operation of the can end feed thus stated, are retained.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A can closing machine comprising a support for a filled can, a closing head movable up and down relative to said support and having a seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, a can end stack mounted on and movable up and down with said closing head, means controlled by the filled cans for releasing the can ends from the stack, and a rotating arm mounted on the closing head and adapted to pass beneath the stack and move the released can end from beneath the stack on to the can. end seat beneath the seaming head.

2. A can closing machine comprising a support for a filled can, a closing head movable up and down relative to said support and having a seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, a can end stack mounted on and movable up and down with said closing head, means controlled by the filled cans for releasing the can ends from the stack, and a rotating arm mounted on the closing head and adapted to pass beneath the stack and move the released can end from beneath the stack on to the can end seat beneath the seaming head, said means for rotating said arm being constructed so as to give said arm a dwell after it passes the stack and prior to the placing of the can end on the can end seat.

3. A can closing machine comprising a support for a filled can, a closing head movable up and down relative to said support and having a seaming head anda can end seat beneath the seaming head, a can end stack mounted on and movable up and down with said closing head, means controlled by the filled cans for releasing the can ends from the stack, a rotating arm mounted on the closing head and adapted to pass beneath the stack and move the released can end from beneath the stack on to the can end seat beneath the seaming head, rotating marking devices for the can endoperative upon the can end between the stack and the can end seat, said marking devices being stationary except for their rotation, and said means for rotating said arm being constructed to give a dwell to said arm after the can end has passed between the marking devices and prior to the placing of the can end on the can end seat.

4. A filled can closing machine comprising a stationary support for a filled can, a'closbig head movable up and down relative to said support and having a seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, a can end stack mounted on and movable up and down with said closing head, rotating marking devices associated with said can end stack, and a rotating arm adapted to pass beneath the stack and move the can end released fromthe stack between the marking devices and on to said can end seat.

5. A filled can closing machine comprising a stationary support for a filled can, a closing head movable up and down relative to said support and having a seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, a can end stack mounted on and movable up and down with said closing head, rotating marking devices associated with said can end stack, a rotating arm adapted to pass beneath the stack and move the can end released from the stack between the marking devices and on to sa d can end seat, and means forroperating said rotating arm including devices for giving a dwell to said rotating arm between the marking devices and the can end. seat.

6. A closing machine including in combination, a supporting frame, a closing head movable up and down on said supporting frame and having a. dwell at the lower end of its reciprocation, said closing head having a rotating seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, said closing head having a laterally projecting support, a stack holder mounted on said support, a bracket attached to the frame, a shaft mounted in the bracket, means for rotating said shaft when a filled can is to be closed,

a sleeve shaft mounted in said bracket and connected to said first-named shaft, a vertical shaft mounted on said support for the can end stack and having a sliding splined connection with the sleeve shaft in said bracket whereby said vertical shaft is free movable up and down on said supporting frame and having a dwell at the lower end of itsrcciprocation, said closing head hav ing a rotating seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, said closing head having a laterally projecting support, a stack holder mounted on said support, a bracket attached to the frame, a shaft mounted in the bracket, means for rotating said shaft when a filled can isto be closed, a sleeve shaft mounted in said bracket and connected to said first-named shaft, a vertical shaft mounted on said support for the can end stack and having a sliding splined connection with the sleeve shaft in said bracket whereby said vertical shaft is free to move up and down with the closing head, and a rotating arm mounted in said vertical shaft for engaging a can end released from the stack and placing said can end on the can end seat, said means for imparting rota tion from the first-named shaft to the sleeve shaft including bevel gears constructed so as to give a dwell to the vertical shaft during each rotation thereof, whereby the arm for feeding the can end is given a dwell just prior to the placing of the can end on the can end seat.

8. A closing machine including in combination, a supporting frame, aclosing head movable up and down on said supportin frame and having a dwell at the lower on of its reciprocation, said closing. head having a rotating seaming head and a can end seat beneath the seaming head, said closing head having a laterally projecting support, a stack holder mounted on said support, a bracket attached to the frame, a shaft mounted in the bracket, means for rotating said shaft when a filled-can is to be closed, a sleeve shaft mounted in said bracket and connected to said first-named shaft, a vertical shaft mounted on said support for the can end stack and having a sliding splined connection with the sleeve shaft in said bracket whereby said vertical shaft is freeto move up and down with the closing head, a rotating arm mounted on said vertical shaft for engaging the can end released fromthe stack and placing said can end on the can end seat, said means for imparting rotation from the first-named shaft to the sleeve shaft including bevel gears constructed so as to give a dwell to the vertical shaft during each rotation thereof whereby the arm for feeding the can end is given a dwell just prior to the placing of the can end seat, and means operating to mark the can end when the closing head is at the lower end of its reciprocation and at a dwell.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

HENRY A. FINK. 

